St. Petersburg officials have an update on the construction of the new Pier. The work is expected to be done by this December, with the grand opening hopefully scheduled for spring-2020.
“If you take a look at where the Pier is right now,” city spokesman Benjamin Kirby said, “you really see it coming together, you really see them finishing it up, and you can start to get a real sense of what, not just the Pier itself, but the entire Pier district is going to look like.”
Kirby said the biggest part of the outside work has been done, and the builders have started interior decoration. He also noted that they have already installed the marketplace solar panels and are proceeding to build a playground.
The Pier will be home to multiple local vendors, an education center, a rooftop tiki bar and a Doc Ford restaurant.
“It is going to be the kind of place where it doesn't matter if you have $5 in your pocket or 50, it’s a pier for everybody,” said Kirby.
The budget for the whole project is around $80 million.
“The replacement for the pier budget was established in 2005 and cost about $50 million dollars,” said Kirby. “When we implemented a voter-approved plan for the downtown waterfront master plan, and the pier approach that was another $20 million and then we received some additional money for enhancements that were $10 million. So it's really $80 million altogether.”
To see updates from the city about the Pier, click here.
